Our actions run the world

Growing up, I never believed in the concept of “doing your part will change the world.” I often argued that “the actions of one person can’t make a difference.” I considered it a waste of time. But last week, I changed my mind.

I was driving to the supermarket to get some baby supplies. I could’ve walked to the neighborhood store, but I needed that drive. As I drove the length of the marshland road, cars, and motorcycles whizzed past me like a swarm of bees. That is when it hit me: when we leave the house, we reach our destination safely only because a thousand others who drive by us obey the rules and drive their vehicles carefully. Everyone out there is doing their part to keep the traffic flowing freely, like how hundreds of moving parts ensure the smooth operation of a machine.

I couldn’t help but relate this thought to a dialogue from Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. There is a scene where little Hugo looks into the giant city of Paris from a clock tower and says,

“I’d imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they require. So, I figured if the entire world was one big machine… I couldn’t be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason too.”

That is when I realized that doing our part does make a difference. Nobody lives alone. We’re all connected, and our actions directly or indirectly affect the lives of many. Though the impact may not be as big as we hoped, we are still making a difference without even knowing it. What can I say? Life is weird like that…